Electrical panels, also known as breaker panels, are an integral part of an electrical service. The panel receives power from the utility through a meter. The panel houses a main circuit breaker and a plurality of circuit breakers for the various circuits served by the panel. From the panel radiate a plurality of branch circuits that distribute power to a number of remote locations serviced by the breaker panel.
The various wires such as the circuit feeds, neutral and ground wires are generally directed into the panel through one or more conduits secured to the panel at connectors located in the bottom wall or a sidewall of the panel. Generally, these wires may be installed by first connecting them to a fish tape and then pulling them through the conduit until the installer can grasp the wires and pull them into the interior of the panel where they may be coupled to the breakers and buss bars.
In pulling wires into a breaker panel friction can cause the wires to hang up or otherwise be difficult to draw through the conduit. Lulling a wire through a strait piece of conduit is generally easy to accomplish. However, if numerous bends are present then the difficulty increases. Also at the end of the conduit if the wire is not being pulled along the axis of the conduit then further friction is added. In particular pulling the wire into a breaker panel when the electrician must pull from a position other than substantially along the axis of the conduit entering the breaker panel can cause problems.
A particular problem often encountered is that the installer will exert a manual outward (typically away from the wall in which the panel is disposed) pulling force on the wires that is non-axial, causing the wires to be drawn from the conduit and connector at an angle with respect to the axis of the conduit. Tapes leading the wire through the conduit, such as mule tape, jet line and true tape are metal and may bend as they are pulled. This can cause the attached electrical wire to bind and possibly fray as the wire is pulled from the conduit. Further, the connectors that are often attached to the conduit and to the panel have a resilient seal which can be damaged by engagement with the wire as it is pulled from the conduit at such angles.